Outspoken Cyclist – 2/6/2021

First up – Radiothon!  It’s our annual fundraiser here at WJCU and it begins this coming Friday, February 12th and runs until midnight February 21st.

Now I know many, many Outspoken Cyclist listeners are outside of the NE Ohio area and might be wondering why it is important to support a local NE Ohio college station.

Two great reasons – first, WJCU supports the Outspoken Cyclist.  Since we first went on the air and up online in September of 2010, WJCU has been our constant – they host the show and archive every episode – this one being #540. 

Second, and more importantly, 2020 was a brutal year for so many people, businesses, and college radio stations! More than ever, we need your support to keep producing the amazing programming we offer – yours truly included – and to keep our studios operating in tip-top shape.  This year, we are planning on updating our stream server… and that directly impacts TOC.

We aren’t asking a lot – any donation would be appreciated.  And, it’s so easy!  Beginning Friday, you can go to WJCU.org, click on the Radiothon button, and fill out the online form.  We have premiums if you choose to donate $25 or more too. 

Okay – how about this week’s show?

Last week, I promised a review of Molly Hurford and Peter Glassford’s new book, Becoming A consummate Athlete and, when I promise… I deliver! (well, most of the time)  It’s a book you just might want to add to your list of fitness and well being titles, covering a wide range of topics that make a whole lot of sense.

We begin with Molly Hurford and Peter Glassford’s new book, Becoming A Consummate Athlete. Taking their 20+ years of coaching, riding, running, and writing – lots of writing – they’ve put much of their expertise and ideas into the new book covering topics from creating new habits and shedding old ones to getting back on track when you fall off the wagon – so to speak. Today, we chat with Molly.

We learn about bikemaps.org, a new online resource for reporting and tracking everything from potholes to collisions and other safety hazards.  It’s a crowd sourced tool for global mapping of cycling safety.

When you click on bikemaps.org, a beautiful map appears on your screen. On the map is a series of points that have been created by people just like you. Each point will describe a place, a hazard, an incident, or show where a bike has been stolen. And, that data can be viewed, updated, or analyzed. Karen Laberee is the executive director of bike maps.

And, finally we speak with a team of planners from ODOT, our own Ohio Department of Transportation, about the new Walk Bike Ohio master plan – a plan that is promising to make walking and biking in Ohio safer, more convenient, and accessible for everyone.

Over the years, we’ve often spoken with planners, transportation specialists, and advocates around the US and beyond to move the needle for safer and more comprehensive biking and walking.

Today, we’re speaking with folks from Ohio on that same subject – safer and more accessible biking and walking – as a new plan is about to launch.